Munder Capital has hired Jim Kourkoulakos, a former PM and co-head of credit research at California Public Employees’ Retirement Service (CalPERS).
Kourkoulakos will serve as senior PM for fixed income at Munder, managing bond portfolios across the full range of the ratings spectrum. He reports to Ed Goard, Munder’s chief investment officer of fixed income.
Here is the press release:
Company Press Release
Munder Capital Management Names Former CalPERS Co-Head of Credit Research Jim Kourkoulakos Senior Portfolio Manager for Fixed Income
BIRMINGHAM, Mich.--Munder Capital Management, a leading money management firm serving institutional investors, announced that Jim Kourkoulakos, a former portfolio manager and co-head of credit research at California Public Employees’ Retirement Service (CalPERS), has joined the firm as a senior portfolio manager for fixed income.
Mr. Kourkoulakos, with nearly two decades of experience in fixed income money management and analysis, will focus on managing bond portfolios across the full range of the ratings spectrum. He reports to Ed Goard, Munder’s CIO of fixed income.
“Jim is a highly regarded and experienced fixed income investor and he bolsters our team’s already formidable strengths and capabilities,” Mr. Goard said. “In addition to developing and implementing our high yield processes, he also will develop products for clients seeking more aggressive risk strategies and returns.”
Added Jim FitzGerald, Munder’s President: “Jim’s hiring underscores Munder’s ongoing commitment to maintaining a first-rate fixed income team that can provide our clients with strategies across the entire risk spectrum.”
At CalPERS, the largest pension fund system in the U.S. with more than $200 billion in assets, Mr. Kourkoulakos co-managed an $8 billion investment grade bond portfolio and managed a $1 billion high-yield bond portfolio. He also developed the high-yield investment and credit research process that strengthened CalPERS’ credit analysis capabilities and enabled the pension system to internally manage its high-yield fixed income portfolio.
Mr. Kourkoulakos earlier held several senior fixed income investment management positions with Oppenheimer Funds, including senior portfolio manager and head of high yield research. In this capacity he led a team of senior credit professionals managing $7 billion in global high yield securities.
Mr. Kourkoulakos holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and an MS degree in Computer Science from Polytechnic University, and an MBA in finance and accounting from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He is a Stern Scholar and a CFA charterholder.
About Munder Capital Management
Munder Capital is an institutional investment management firm providing highly disciplined domestic and international equity as well as fixed income investment solutions. Together with its Integrity Asset Management affiliate, more than $15 billion* of investment assets (as of 12.31.12) are managed on behalf of corporations, retirement plans, insurance companies, municipalities, Taft-Hartley and mutual fund investors. Munder Capital offers products across various asset classes that span the risk and capitalization spectrums in multiple markets through separate accounts, commingled funds, and mutual funds. Based in Birmingham, MI with an office in Boston, Munder Capital is an independently owned firm and its employees represent a significant percentage of ownership, contributing to its client-centric culture. Integrity Asset Management (www.integrityasset.com) is a Rocky River, OH-based money management firm specializing in managing value-oriented equity strategies for institutional clients.
For additional information, please call 248.647.9200 or visit us at www.munder.com.
*Total assets under management consists of Munder Capital assets of $12.3 billion and Integrity assets of $3.2 billion, which includes approximately $447 million in Munder client assets sub-advised by Integrity.